The Darker Powers
by Kai2
Summary: When MiM picks TWO new Guardians the others are less than thrilled. Trying to figure out why is no picnic trying to convince them to help even less so. These sisters prefer to be by themselves and when the Guardians want to discuss their checkered past they get a little more than they bargained for.
1. Chapter 1: Amalthea

**I changed Cupid's name. Hey every one I'm back with a new story. Now bear with me I know I haven't updated any of my other stories but this one won't leave me alone it just keeps bugging me. So well here you go.**

**Disclaimer: if I owned RotG would I be typing fan fiction about it?**

? POV

The first thing I was aware of was that I felt different, the second my sister who'd regrettably shared my fate was nowhere to be seen, the third was that I shouldn't be breathing. I could have sworn those villagers killed us. I sat up slowly dusting off a light powdering of snow. I looked up to the moon basking in its light.

"…. So strange"

"You young child of glowing warmth expanding from the heart your name is Amalthea Amour. You're the spirit Cupid"

"Who said that?" I demanded looking around for the owner of the voice "and where is my sister?"

"I am the moon" the voice responded "you will be reunited in good time"

…..

…..

"Did you say cupid?" I asked as I stood up glancing down at my clothes. My eyes took in a pale pink halter top with a bright red heart on the front. Ballet flats in the same shade of pink encased my feet and a red and pink layered tutu that stuck straight out from my sides covered my bottom and a large red heart clip held my hair back in a high pony. Speaking of…. I reached back and grabbed some of my hair it was pale blond streaked with red.

I ran to a small frozen puddle and took in my appearance my features seemed unchanged but my eyes were strange a tie-dye of multiple shades of pink. Next to the puddle was a small red pouch with a pink heart button and a red quiver full of arrows, I fixed the pouch around my waist and the quiver across my back. "Quiver of arrows ….. but no bow?" I asked. A single ray of moonlight seemed to slant towards the pouch, reaching into it I pulled out a small heart that was red on one side and the same pink as everything else on the other. Running my finger over it a small flat piece of wood expanded out from the top and the bottom. It expanded until it was nearly as tall as me then the two ends became connected by a string as thin as a piece of hair. I held the bow out at arms length and though it looked like it had a heavy draw weight I had no doubts that I would be able to draw and fire with ease. I ran my thumb over the heart going from the point where the two curves met to the bottom point and the bow retracted shrinking back down to just the heart. I tucked it back into my pouch and set out to look for my sister.

**Hey so there's the first chapter there will be more soon and we will hopefully meet Cupid's sister in the next chapter but will they recognize each other? Only I know. **


	2. Chapter 2: Adromeda

**New Chapter**

**YAAAAAY**

POV ?

It was cold when I came to …. Or rather it should have been cold it was the middle of winter and I was covered in a foot of snow but surprisingly I wasn't cold. I sat up slowly and glanced around I was in a circular clearing in the woods but my sister wasn't with me. 'This is so strange' I thought to my self. I ran my hands over my clothes in order to smooth them out. My hands met unfamiliar fabric and I looked down at myself. A knee length flowing gold skirt with a silver band around my waist and pale gray ballet flats covered me from the waist down, a gold and silver swirled halter top that showed off my navel covered my torso. I ran a hand through my hair catching some of it I brought it forward not believing what I saw I ran to puddle of melting snow, gone were my sunshiny gold locks, my hair was now brown shot through with streaks of the same silver and gold that mad up my out-fit. I blinked several times and each time I did my eyes changed color.

"Young one" a smooth voice called.

Seemingly on instinct I turned my eyes skyward to the light of the full moon 'child of eyes turned skyward in wistful bliss. Your name is Andromeda Sirrah and you are the spirit of wishes.'

I nodded and a single ray of moonlight pointed to the ground next to me where a pouch and a quiver of arrows sat. I reached into the pouch after securing it around my waist, it was gray with a gold star clasp, and pulled out a star that was gray on one side and gold on the other. I ran my finger down the middle and it expanded into a bow. I smiled. I could do this.

"Molly?" I whipped around at the sound of my old name. I saw my sister Claire standing before me. She looked different her hair was pale blond and streaked with pink. She too had a bow her arrows shafts were white and the fletching was red. I pulled out one of my arrows to examine it. A silver shaft and gold fletching and tip met me. The tip was a five pointed star like the one that formed my bow. She retrieved one of her arrows revealing a red heart shaped tip.

"Guess what Molly" she said "I'm Cupid now. My name is Amalthea Amor."

I nodded and grinned holding up my arrow for her to see

"You too?" she asked "What's your name?"

I returned the arrow to the quiver and tried to think of a way to tell her. I had an idea using the end of my bow I attempted to spell my name in the snow, but the slight curve in the end made it hard. I let out a frustrated sigh and reached for an arrow the one I pulled out this time had no fletching.

"That is your wand young one, use it to grant wishes" I nodded

'_Molly?'_ It was Clai- Amalthea's voice but her lips hadn't moved

'_Yes?'_ I thought

'_Holy cow! I can hear you!'_

'_and I can hear you'_ I thought '_no need to yell'_ it suddenly hit me how to communicate my new name

'_it's just so cool Molly'_

'_Andromeda'_ I thought

'_What?'_

'_My name is Andromeda Sirrah now.' _

I turned my face skyward and silently thanked whomever it was up there who gave us these gifts. I had my sister back and a second chance at life. Amalthea must've had the same idea because I heard her shout, her face tipped up, "THANK YOU Man in Moon!"

'_The Man in the Moon huh' _

"Yeah he's the reason we're here. He gave us our second chances."

Manny looked down at the sisters most of the time in the beginning the spirits didn't know why they where chosen but he had a suspicion that these girls knew exactly what they'd done to earn this. He chuckled to himself as he thought of the importance these girls would have in the future.

'_They will be very important indeed'_ he mused

**Hey so there's chapter two let me know love it or hate it. R&R. I will probably be doing all future chapters in a kind of not-involved-in-the-story- omnipresent third person POV.**


	3. Chapter 3: Reluctant Help

**Hey every body. So I guess this fic just sucks because there are still no reviews. Oh well that's not gonna stop me. Here comes chapter three. I will not be typing Bunny and north's accents. Just read it as though they're speaking in your ear. It works for me. And I changed my mind there will be POV on some if not all of the chapters. By the way the descriptions may change just a touch like specific colors and all that but before you get on me for that, remember that Jack didn't wear the same clothes for 300 years so why should Amalthea and Andromeda? **

**Disclaimer: ****I don't own ROTG just my characters**

**Amalthea POV**

It's been several centuries since me and Andromeda were given our gifts at first we where afraid of our power. But could you blame us we had lost our lives to the gallows accused of witchcraft. 50 years passed and we didn't change, at all, we retained our youthful faces. People started living longer and it became that rather than middle aged, at anatomically 16, we were actually children. Right around year 51 Andromeda theorized that we must be immortal. I'm Amalthea Amour and it often surprises me that I am 450 years old.

**Andromeda POV**

It was sometime around year 107 that I first saw them. The Guardians. It was the first sign that I and my sister weren't alone in this unending life. My favorite of the four of them would defiantly have to be the little golden man. He was mute like me but he communicated by forming little sand shapes above his head. To be honest he gave me the idea to make stardust. Examining some of his dream sand I created a similar substance. My stardust is a finer powder, more like flour than sand, and silver in color. When sprinkled upon a child it strengthens their belief, for a short time, delivering a brief flare of inspiration. Sometimes children make wishes on the shooting stars I make. Sadly almost none of them really mean it so I can't grant them, believe me I've tried.

**POV none**

The Guardians were gathered at the pole all except for one.

"Where's Jack?" Tooth asked trying to keep the worry out of her voice

"I haven't seen hide or hoodie of him since last month" North responded.

"He's probably out making a snow storm" Bunny said slightly irritated then under his breath 'bloody show pony'. The moon flashed brighter catching the four Guardian's attention. When the crystal rose up from the floor bunny groaned "Not again!" he then proceeded to chant 'not the groundhog please not the ground hog.'

Two figures appeared in the reflected light both were clearly girls, both about Jack's age, dressed similarly in what appeared to be jeans and T- shirts their hair pulled back into matching ponytails. One had a star where the pony tail met her head the other had a heart. They had matching quivers slung over their shoulders and matching pouches at their hips.

"Um" Tooth said "Am I the only one at a loss here?"

At the same time north asked "Who are these girls?"

A star hovered above the girl with the star in her hair and a heart hovered above the other.

Sandy and Bunny shared a glance then shrugged.

"I've never seen these two before" Bunny said. And Sandy nodded indicating that he hadn't either.

"Wow" came a young female voice from behind them "I wouldn't have pegged the great Guardian's of Childhood as a bunch of liars" a sigh was heard as the four slowly turned around ready to attack….. Only to stop short at the sight that met them. Standing before them was a girl of no more than 16 with platinum blonde hair that was streaked with light pink and red. The same pink and red made up her shirt, a simple red T- shirt with little pink hearts along the hems and 'Love is Blind' written in swirly white script, light wash denim jeans covered her legs and pink strappy heels encased her feet. Like in the projection she had a heart shaped hair clip in her hair and a quiver of arrows strapped to her back. The fletching of the arrows were varying shades of pink and red but the shafts were all the same color as the quiver a pink so pale it was almost white. The pouch at her side was a deep crimson with a hot pink heart shaped button. Her face was…. Cherub-ish would be the best word for it, round and happy, a snow white pair of feathery wings extended out behind her, and her eyes were a tie- dye of different shades of pink and red, and right now those eyes were filled with disapproval.

"What do you mean 'liars'?" Tooth asked "I don't recall having ever met you."

"You've all met us at one point or another" the girl snapped "but of course, like with your little friend Jack, you only saw us as trouble. We were just another problem that needed dealing with."

"Who are you?" North asked. The girl glared in his direction then sighed loudly.

"My name is Amalthea Amour" she said "or if it's easier to remember" she paused and winced with obvious distaste "Cupid also works."

"Okay" Tooth said. "What about the other girl?" she pointed to the crystal which was slowly sinking back into the floor.

"Andromeda Sirrah" Amalthea replied. "And before you ask North yes I know what this being here means" she gestured to the crystal as the floor covered it once more.

"Y- You do?" Bunny asked

"Yes" she said "Andromeda and I are to become Guardians are we not?" she directed the first part to Bunny and the second part to North.

"That is what we believe Manny is trying to tell us" he said nervously.

"No" Came her answer

"What!?" Bunny shouted "Why not?"

"Why would we want to be Guardians?" she asked. "We protect our part of childhood just fine without being part of some elitist group so confident in their better – than – you – ness that they'd let two children who'd just gone through the worst trauma imaginable be alone without so much as a howdy doo? Hell you leave all the newbie's alone. Kind of a 'screw you figure it out for yourselves' kind of attitude. Do you realize the kind of damage that does?"

"What are you talking about? What children?" North questioned but Amalthea wasn't done.

"These very same children wake up in the snow, cold and alone, unseen by all except each other."

Tooth had gone silent her shocked expression was all it took to tell Amalthea she'd struck a nerve with the motherly fairy. The entire work shop was silent as the yetis had stopped their work and even the elves daren't move for fear of angering the winged girl.

"What trauma?" North finally whispered

"Wouldn't you like to know" Amalthea snapped "I'm only here to help you because the people who kidnapped Jack took Andromeda too."

"Wait" Bunny said snapping out of his shock "Jack was kidnapped?!"

**Okay so; that was fun to type. Especially now that I have my school issued laptop back and don't have to worry about my brother staring over my shoulder as I type. Ohhhhhkay so I did NOT intend to have Amalthea snap like that and I certainly didn't plan for it to happen so soon. I originally intended for Andromeda to snap and spill their ****très****tragique**** back story in a much later chapter, probably only to Jack, but hey ****c'est**** la vie. Maybe she still will. Please read and review. Flames will be used to bake mini cupcakes then flushed down the toilette. **


	4. Chapter 4: Preparing the Rescue

**Hope you've been enjoying reading this as much as I've enjoyed writing it. **

_**Disclaimer**_**: if I owned Rise of the Guardians. **

**Jack wouldn't have forgiven them so easily**

**He wouldn't have been shunned after Easter **

**Tooth would have been more fairy less humming bird**

**It defiantly would have been clearer as to weather or not they **_**have**_** to eat or sleep. (in the case of my story they do)**

**And that's all I've got for now they may change or more may be added so keep your eyes peeled**

**Amalthea POV**

"By whom?" a dangerous glint had crept into Tooth's voice. "And how do you know?"

"Oh nobody special" I said sighing "Just Pain and Panic, and I know because I found his staff with my sisters bow, and around the area there were signs of a struggle." I spoke as I set the aforementioned tools on the table in front of me. We had moved into one of the many rooms in the building and North had ordered the yetis to get back to work.

"Okay" Bunny said "But how do you know it was those two?"

"Because" I said "if it were Hate or Aeris, Andromeda wouldn't have gotten caught, Destruction is a joke, and there would be nightmare essence if it were Pitch but I ruled him out immediately given the events ten years ago. Plus there were three broken arrows on the ground that's the number she ready's if she feels threatened. Pain is the only person other than her who can break her arrows and she wouldn't break them, they're precious to her."

'Why can Pain break her arrows?' Sandy who had simply been soaking in the experiences gestured to me.

"Because of all the guilt she carries around" I said "He feeds off of it, that steady flow of emotional pain, and until she can let it go, accept that what she feels guilty for was not her fault, he will have the power to break her arrows."

**POV none**

"What happened?" asked Tooth. Amalthea simply ignored her.

"Hope you're ready." She said reaching into the pouch at her side and pulling out a small two colored heart. "You're gonna need to be at the top of your game to bust the two of them out." She ran her thumb down the middle of the heart and it expanded into a bow. With a flick of her wrist the string appeared.

"You make it sound like you know where they are" Bunny said

"I do" she replied "Sort of."

'What do you mean 'sort of'?' Sandy asked

"The same way North is the Guardian of Wonder" Amalthea began "I would be the Guardian of Bonds."

"Bonds?" North asked "What kind of bonds?"

"Basically love" she said simply "Regardless of the kind of love weather it be friend, family, or true meant- to- be soul mate love."

"So you and Andromeda are close friends?" Bunny asked

"You could say that" Amalthea replied "Anyway I use the connection between the people involved to know where they are. The stronger the bond the more precise the location"

'So where are they?' Sandy asked

"Nevada" she said

"That's not _so_ bad" Bunny said

"Really?" Amalthea asked "You sure about that? While I understand that they could be someplace bigger like Russia or China, more space to cover longer time searching but Nevada is one of the hotter states, and while I can't tell exactly were they are I can tell you they're in the desert, not exactly good for Jack."

Tooth covered her mouth in horror. She'd been so caught up in the surprise of an intruder at the pole; then Amalthea's story had enraptured her and she hadn't bothered to examine the young girl's teeth like she usually did. They were as white as the wings on her back. "So what you're saying is…." She said.

"We don't have much time" Bunny finished

"Which means as soon as you're ready we need to leave" Amalthea said "I suggest getting a goodnights rest and stocking up on weapons. Manny only knows what we're up against." A small flitting was heard and a tiny white dove landed on Amalthea's shoulder. "Ah Snow good to see you I need you to go get my back up quivers" she spoke to the bird "Three should be plenty make sure they aren't practice arrows. Please." The bird bobbed its head and took off.

"Where is he going?" North asked "It's much too cold for him this far north"

Amalthea chuckled "That's Snow he's my personal assistant the cold won't affect him so long as he carries my blessing"

"Your blessing?" Tooth asked

"Yes" she said anger subsiding "As time passes Snow will age like a normal Turtle Dove and when he passes I will select a new assistant and in becoming my helper they are instantly given my blessing. The only thing that can kill them is age. He is not the first nor will he be the last of my assistants. He is however the first Turtle Dove."

"That's horrible" Tooth said "taking an animal and making it your servant till the day it dies"

"First off" Amalthea said instantly angry "He isn't my servant he is free to leave whenever he likes. Second: ask him when he gets back he'll tell you it's a great honor to have been selected. I don't ask him to do anything that I could do my self. I could go get my arrows but he is much faster than me and there's no guaranteeing that Pain won't come after me too then you'd be royally screwed." A flapping sound came from the window and Snow came fluttering in with three quivers wrapped about him.

"It's true" he chirped "Being Amalthea's assistant is a great honor and I am not bound by anything. I could leave if I wanted but without the Cupid's Blessing I wouldn't live as long and I wouldn't be able to withstand such extreme temperatures."

"Thank you Snow" Amalthea said taking the quivers from him. "North do you have a spare room I could borrow for the night?" North nodded.

"This way" he led her to an empty room with a small cot in the corner.

"Perfect" Amalthea said "Feels like I could sleep on the floor if I had to. Good night North you all should try to get some sleep we've got hard times ahead of us." She lay down on the cot and soon drifted off. She looked so peaceful when she slept.

'She's just a kid' North thought 'she shouldn't have to carry the world on her shoulders the way she does.' He turned and left closing the door behind him he went about making sure the other Guardians had places to sleep before hitting the hay himself. 'She was right though' he thought as he drifted off 'hard times are waiting for us. And we should be as prepared as possible.'

**Wow two for one special two chapters in one update. Booyah! Please Review. Flames welcome as I will use them to make ham.**


	5. Chapter 5: Dreamless Duo

**Here I am once more. This chapter follows what's going on with Jack and Andromeda as well as what's going down at the pole. Please don't fill up my reviews with things like 'such and such character wouldn't do that' or 'that's not how it works' This if I might remind you is a FANMADE fictional story. This means that I can make them behave however I want. I will do my best to stay in character though. I only own Andromeda, Amalthea, and Snow so far.**

**STILL don't own Rise of the Guardians, but if I did: **

**It would go more into the other Guardians' pasts**

**It would be much clearer on weather they had to die first or if that's just Jack's (Andromeda's and Amalthea's) case**

**There would be more female guardians than just Tooth**

**I wouldn't be typing this on fan fiction it would be the second movie.**

**Well without further ado here's chapter five. ALSO I WOULD LIKE TO APOLOGIZE TO THE PEOPLE OF NEVADA WHO MIGHT HAVE BEEN OFFENDED BY MY LAST CHAPTER. I MEANT NO OFFENSE.**

**POV none **

**Location: Pole**

A blood curdling scream had the four guardians running into Amalthea's borrowed room. The cot was empty and instead sitting in the light from the moon that filtered in through the room's lone window, arms wrapped around her own shoulders was Amalthea. There were tears on her cheeks and in her eyes.

"You damn near scared the fur off me" Bunny shouted

"S- s- sorry" Amalthea said brushing the remaining tears away. She seemed so small, sitting in the moonlight like it was her safe haven, hugging herself and crying. Frail, she looked frail, like the slightest wrong move might shatter her. The Guardians were instantly reminded that, despite how mature she seemed, she was just a child.

'Give me a bloody heart attack.' Bunny muttered.

"What happened?" North asked "Did something attack you?"

"It's not important" Amalthea said standing up. Gone was the frail little girl they had just seen. The hard 'I- don't- need- anybody' girl from earlier was back.

"Your scream reached decibel levels only dolphins could hear" Tooth said instantly in mother – mode. "There's no way the cause isn't important." Amalthea sighed

"It was just a nightmare." Her matter of fact tone stunned them "It's not anything new."

'What do you mean?' Sandy asked.

"Look" Amalthea said sitting back down on the cot. "Andromeda and I have had nightmares pretty much every night for the last 460 years." Sandy looked shocked. "The nights where we didn't have nightmares –"

"You had dreams" Bunny interrupted "That tends to be how it works"

"No" Amalthea said irritated "The nights we didn't have nightmares we didn't dream or anything. It's only happened a handful of times, when we skipped out on sleeping. We were so afraid of the nightmares that we didn't sleep at all, and then when we did finally crash we were too tired to dream or have nightmares." Tooth was pale, Bunny looked suitably embarrassed for jumping to conclusions, North was horrified, and Sandy….. Well Sandy looked guilty. Noticing their expressions Amalthea shook her head "It's cool" she reassured "It's not like it matters. Besides Sandy had better things to do than to make sure a couple of loners like us had dreams each night. Seems like a waste of energy to me." She lay back down and curled up. She was beginning to drift off and Sandy prepared a small amount of dream sand to use on her.

"If you use that on me Sanderson" Amalthea's muffled voice proclaimed "You'll regret it in the morning. Seriously just let nature take its course." Then she fell asleep leaving the guardians to wonder how badly they had messed up, that she wouldn't accept help for a problem when the solution was sitting no more than four feet from her bed.

**POV None**

**Location: Nevada?**

Jack snapped awake to a dark room with one small window at the very top were the wall met the ceiling. The events leading up to that moment caught up with him. He'd been hanging around Burgess when he'd seen a shadow following a girl into the woods. Fearing the worst he'd followed it, only to get drawn into a fight between the shadow and the girl. In the scuffle he'd lost his staff and she'd dropped a bow that he hadn't noticed she had, then it had gotten abnormally hot and he'd passed out. A soft whimpering from the corner of the room snapped him out of his revelry. He turned and took in his cellmate's appearance. It was the same girl from before. The whimpering stopped abruptly and the girl pushed herself away from the corner and into the small patch of light that filtered in through the window. Jack took in her features. She was wearing dark denim jeans with silver ballet flats. A silver pouch with a gold star shaped button hung off her waist. A black T- shirt with a gold star on it covered her torso. Written in silver cursive on the shirt were the words 'Wishful Thinking'. A matching star shaped pin was in her hair at the base of her ponytail. Her hair was light brown shot through with silver and gold streaks. She turned towards him and blinked, her eyes changed color from green to blue. Her skin was the color of porcelain.

"Who are you?" Jack asked. His question was met by silence as she brushed some black dust from her shoulders. "Did you just have a nightmare?" her eyes met his turning the color of lead. Slowly, very slowly she nodded. "Does that happen often?" she shrugged as if to say 'no big deal.' "You don't talk do you?" Jack asked. She shook her head 'no.'

"Well that makes communicating significantly harder." She seemed to get an idea. She waved her hand through the air and a small mound of silver powder collected in her palm. As Jack watched as it formed into words.

'Got a pen and some paper?' Jack shook his head no. 'Do you speak ASL?' another no. 'Any good at charades?' this time he nodded.

"So what is this stuff?" Jack asked taking a pinch of it. From the mound in her hand a small star and a feather duster appeared. "Star….. Dust?" Jack asked. She nodded and tapped her nose. "What's your name?" was his next question. She tapped her chin. The stardust formed a constellation. Jack just shook his head. She sighed and the Stardust formed two words.

'Andromeda Sirrah'

"So your name's Andromeda?" Jack asked "Anybody call you 'Andy'?" Andromeda shook her head. "Why don't you spell everything out?"

'Too much focus' was her reply. Two more words appeared. 'Your name?'

"I'm Jack; Jack Frost" Jack said. Andromeda grinned and moved so that she was sitting next to him. "So what do you do?" he asked. She stood and moved over to the corner she picked something up and moved back over to him. She set the package down in front of her revealing a pale grey quiver full of arrows. The fletching was gold and the shafts were the same gray as the quiver. The Stardust lifted off the floor and made a small bow and arrow set. The arrow drew back and flew. The arrow went up and then raced back down leaving a white streak. "Shooting stars?" Jack asked slightly amazed. Andromeda nodded. Several more pictures formed above her hands.

'You're pretty good at this'

"I hang out with The Sandman." Jack said "He doesn't talk either."

'I hope to meet him one day' Andromeda said

"Hey if we get out of this I'll introduce you personally" Andromeda grinned at him a wide toothy smile her eyes changing to gold briefly then to a soft grey. 'If Tooth were here she'd be commenting on how shiny her teeth are.' Jack mused. Andromeda started to drift to sleep her head dropping onto Jack's shoulder. He reached over to move her head but paused, she looked so peaceful and, he almost didn't allow himself to hope, comfortable. He allowed himself to drift off as well and it seemed only minutes later when a voice woke them. The pale light that filtered through the small window announced that it was about midday.

"Well isn't this sweet" the voice called. Andromeda was awake in seconds, pulling her quiver closer to her. Jack sat up and instinctively reached for his staff before remembering that he'd lost it in the fight. "You know Frost I had no quarrel with _you_ but you just _had_ to get involved didn't you." Andromeda winced in pain as though the voice itself were the cause.

"Who are you?" Jack called to the formless voice.

"I am Pain" the voice called from the darkness. A man materialized from the shadows. He had red eyes, brown skin, and his red hair looked like it was on fire. He was wearing black pants draped with chains, a blood red shirt, and a leather jacket covered in metal spikes. He wore black combat boots. "Andromeda so good to see you." The room grew hotter, Andromeda was unaffected; Jack however grimaced uncomfortably.

"You know this guy?" Jack asked. Andromeda nodded sadly.

"Ah yes Andromeda here is my favorite." Pain chuckled cruelly. "Though I don't suppose she told you why." Jack shook his head. Andromeda leapt to her feet ready to hit Pain in the face, but he had anticipated this and easily caught her and chucked her against the wall. She started to stand again only to be caught by Pain and forced against the wall. "That's something I never understood about you my dear. Why do you constantly get back up? You know you'll just get thrown down again." As if to prove his point Pain pulled her towards him and then shoved her hard against the wall. She slumped not unconscious but very dazed. She pushed her self into a sitting position bracing her back against the wall. Pain moved towards the wall and opened an unseen door. "I'll leave you with this little gift" he said "A little blast from your past, courtesy of me." Jack placed a hand on her shoulder just as her eyes fell shut.

**Andromeda POV**

The world flashed white then faded and when the color came back and I could see straight I realized where I was. I was reliving a montage of my 17 greatest failures starting with number one little Liza Thomson. The only difference this time was that Jack was standing next to me.

"What's going on?" he asked

'We're trapped in a flash from my past' my thoughts were projected and came out as if I'd spoken them. 'I don't think Pain meant for you to be included in this little party.'

"How do we get out of it?" he asked

'We don't' I sighed. 'We have to let it run its course. If we try to get out before it's done it'll just be there waiting until I let my guard down. Of course that would get _you _out of here.' I tried to focus on waking up, getting out of the memory. Nothing happened. 'Pain's blocking me' I muttered.

"Why can I hear what you're thinking?" Jack asked

'Not sure' I replied. 'Oh joy it's starting' I pointed to a nearby tree where a little girl was climbing ever higher. 'Liza Thompson. The first of many.' A girl in a gold and silver dress stepped out of the shadows just as Liza slipped. The little girl plummeted as the figure shot up to intercept her. The two girls crossed paths, Liza passing straight through the golden clad girl. Liza hit the ground with a sickening thump and a yelp. The girl lowered her self to the ground and knelt by Liza's side horror and confusion on her face. Two people came running up, a woman and a man, the woman started crying and clutching at the dead girl's clothes. The gold clad girl picked up a sharp looking stone and drew one line across her wrist with it.

I couldn't bring my self to look at Jack; I knew he must've been thinking of how pathetic I was.

The scenery changed in place of the forest a town rose up. 'William Nelson' the name echoed across the space. The same gold clad girl attempted to push a teenage boy out of the way of an oncoming carriage to no avail the boy and the carriage went right through her. She knelt next to the boy picked up a small stone from the street and drew a new line on her other wrist.

'That's me' I pointed to the gold clad girl.

And so it went, 14 more changes of scenery sometimes similar scenes sometimes different, and I spoke each child's name. When the scene changed to the lake that made number 17 I finally looked at Jack. His eyes were full of pity. I grit my teeth and looked away. I hated pity because pity meant the person thought you were weak.

I turned my attention to the scene as a brown haired boy and his little sister stepped out onto the ice. Past me was hiding behind a tree. I was just about to announce the soon- to- be deceased child's name when Jack announced horror in his voice.

"That's me" he pointed to the boy. "You were there?"

'Fat lot of good it did.' I muttered. Past me shot forward as the boy dropped through the ice, but just like the last 16 times he passed right through me. I turned to Jack ready to apologize, to finally get some closure on the one death that had haunted me for the last 310 years, but Jack's icy stare stopped me before I even started. I turned my attention to the scene as like the others it finished with me adding a new line, a new name, another failure, to my wrist. '17, I guess that was my magic number. That's how many failures it took for me to finally realize that no matter how hard I tried no matter what I did I'd never been seen, I'd never be able to save anyone.' The scene faded and we were back in the cell.

**POV None**

Andromeda picked up her quiver and moved away from Jack. She slid back into the corner where she began and faced the wall. Jack didn't see, or didn't care to acknowledge, the silent sobs that racked her thin frame. Andromeda drifted into a nightmare filled sleep. When she snapped awake, rather than move into the light, as she and her sister had done for centuries, she stayed in the corner, swept the tears from her cheeks, and tried to sleep again.

**That's chapter five. I wasn't sure how I wanted this to go so I just went with it. Please leave a review. I hope you like it. If you don't like it don't read it.**

** THANKS!**


	6. Chapter 6: From Bad to Worse

**So here's chapter six. Hope you enjoy it. It probably won't be as long as the last chapter or maybe it'll be longer. In this Fic the movie took place in 2003. **

**Koryandrs- Thanks a bunch for reviewing it means a lot to me and here's the next three chappies for you**

**MagicMilkBone- thanks for favorite ing my story**

**POV Amalthea**

**Location Sierra Desert, Nevada**

It had taken us 30 minutes to get ready that morning. That was too long in my opinion, the longer we took to find them, the more chance there was that they were moved. I was sure Pain was onto us, there was no way he couldn't be. He knows I'll come after Andromeda. I only hoped he wouldn't expect me to have company. I felt a sudden tugging sensation in my gut. Andromeda is close, and where Andromeda is, Jack is too, hopefully.

"North" I shouted above the sound of the wind. I pushed myself to the front of the sleigh. "They're down there" I pointed straight down. "I'll go down first you follow close behind" I stepped onto the edge of the sleigh and hopped off the side. Unfurling my wings and using them to glide downward at a safe speed. As soon as my feet touched the ground, so did North's sleigh. I stared at my feet not believing my eyes. Between my candy apple red painted toes sat my sisters wand, I stooped to pick it up, it looked the same as it always had, but I could tell my sister wasn't the last person to touch it. Pain was.

**POV None**

**Location: unchanged **

"Pain" Rage had crept into Amalthea's voice and the Guardians took an instinctive step backwards. "He dropped this here to throw me off her trail."

"So….. Let me get this straight." North said

"You _don't _know where they are." Bunny finished.

"No. I don't" Amalthea admitted. She clutched the small stick she had picked up closer to her chest. It was a perfectly smooth silver rod with a gold star on one end. Her bow clutched loosely in her other hand. Spinning the stick on her finger she tucked it, star end first, into one of her quivers.

"What is that?" Tooth asked gesturing to it.

"Andromeda's wand." Amalthea said at the same time a voice behind her said:

"Bait" a girl with a tan only achievable through a lifetime on a beach stepped out of seemingly nowhere. She had long wavy golden blond hair that reached her waist, brown eyes, and a devious smile. A gold band encircled her head at the center of her forehead, a matching gold belt sat on her waist with a small dagger strapped to it. A single gold band encircled her left bicep with a matching band around her right wrist. "Though, Mal, I didn't expect you to bring company."

"Ah, Aeris" Amalthea said sarcasm dripping from her words. "Still haunting trailer parks and mirror shops?"

The girl – Aeris – made a face. "How dare you speak to me that way." She snapped "I AM THE –"

"Yeah yeah, the goddess of discord" Amalthea interrupted "Oh spare me. You are no more of a goddess than Andromeda or I."

"Why you little brat!" Aeris screamed she pulled the dagger from her waist. The Guardians immediately jumped to action, but Amalthea held up her free hand stopping them before they could do anything. Amalthea pulled a single arrow from her quiver and knocked it. The razor sharp looking triangle shaped tip was as blood red as the fletching. "Wait" Aeris said fear creeping into her voice "What happened to the heart shaped tips? What kind of Cupid carries arrows like that?"

"The kind of Cupid who's fed up with the worlds crap." Amalthea said her voice so calm it was scary. "By the way where's your little peon?"

"Destruction had other business to attend to." Aeris replied never taking her eyes off the arrow aimed at her chest. "You know, Pain is going to kill your sister." Amalthea grit her teeth and pulled the arrow farther back. "He's already her cellmate giving her, you'll forgive the pun, the cold shoulder."

"What?" Amalthea said shocked.

"Oh yeah, turns out Frost was one of the seventeen failures on her resume."

"Amalthea" Bunny said "What's she talking about?" Amalthea sighed glancing at the guardians.

"My sister wasn't like me; she didn't accept at first that we're intangible to mortals. She tried seventeen times to save children who were going to die. All seventeen times she failed, the seventeenth was a boy about eighteen around colonial times, and she swore the seventeenth failure would be her last. She didn't try anymore. She memorized their names and to this day she still remembers all of them. For just over 400 years she's lived with the guilt of knowing they died some of them in her arms. Most of them came to her in ghost form and, before they moved on, forgave her. They tried in vain to convince her it wasn't her fault."

"Oh but it is her fault" Aeris said mockingly. Amalthea turned her full attention back to the 'goddess' of discord and released the arrow. It hit Aeris, who in turn disappeared in a puff of white smoke. "Guess what I did Amalthea" her voice echoed tauntingly "Remember how I said Destruction had business to attend to?"

"Yes" Amalthea was looking for the source of the voice

"How much do you like your current housing situation?" the voice faded with a cackle

Amalthea's face paled and she turned to North. "Do you have something that can get you from one place to another in a matter of seconds?" she demanded. North nodded producing a snow globe from one of his coat pockets. He handed it to her.

"Just say where you want to go, shake it, and throw it on the ground." He explained. Amalthea nodded.

"Star Castle" she shouted, gave the globe a good shake, and threw it on the ground. A portal appeared before her and she leapt through not waiting to see if the guardians followed her. When she exited the portal what she saw caused her to drop to her knees and stare in wide eyed disbelief. "No" where once there had stood a beautiful castle, hewn from glass and stone with six soaring towers and all pale white and pink stone; lit up with millions of rainbows nestled on a particularly large cumulous cloud, there was now a collection of smaller clouds upon each sat a pile of rubble. Amalthea was kneeling on a small cloud that had not been part of her home. She felt a heavy hand drop onto her shoulder but she shrugged it off. The tears rose unbidden in her eyes and streamed down her cheeks. "My home" she whispered. "Our haven is gone, just like that."

Tooth crouched next to her "It's okay sweet pea." She said not really sure what else to do she attempted to pull Amalthea into a hug, only to be met with rigid tension. Amalthea shot up and horror filled her eyes. With a scream of 'Jethro' she dove from the cloud and flew towards the rubble. She began clawing frantically through the rubble cutting her hands on the broken glass. Tooth, who had followed her, pulled her hands away from the wreckage. Amalthea was on her knees once again eyes wide staring at her, now profusely bleeding, hands which rested on her knees.

"Jethro" Amalthea choked out before falling forward onto her bloodied hands and weeping. From above her there came a furious squawking and a bird with red, orange, and yellow feathers landed in front of her. "Jethro?" She questioned. Reaching out she poked the bird. Seeing that he was real she practically screamed with joy. "Jethro thank god you're alive." She brushed the tears from her eyes smearing blood all over her face.

"Who is this?" North asked as he, Bunny, and Sandy landed on the cloud.

"This is Jethro." Amalthea replied as the bird landed on her shoulder. He stared curiously at her hands.

"Another of your assistants?" Tooth asked

"Actually no" Amalthea said "Jethro is the spirit of re- birth. He's a phoenix"

'Why's he staring at your hands?' Sandy signed

"Oh yeah that" Amalthea said nervously "Jethro acts like a big brother to Andromeda and I. He's worried because I'm bleeding is all."

"He looks like he's going to cry" Bunny observed

"Yeah he does that. Phoenix tears have healing properties." Amalthea said nudging Jethro off her shoulder with her forearm. "Come on" she said "We should head back to the Pole and strategize." "Jethro" she turned to the bird "See if you or any of your friends can find any sign of Jack or Andromeda" the bird bobbed its head and took off.

Tooth was staring at her; Amalthea seemed to have completely forgotten the state of her hands.

"You're still bleeding" Bunny said.

"Doesn't matter" Amalthea said "When we get back to the Pole I'll take care of it. We were just in the Sierra Desert in Nevada in case you were wondering so you can go get your sleigh." North took out another snow globe and opened a portal. "I'll meet you guys at the Pole." Amalthea said taking flight.

**Okay so like I said not as long as the last Chapter but that's okay. **

**Truth be told I wanted to jump POV's but thought at this point it would feel a little forced.**


	7. Chapter 7: Jack's Deal Andromeda's Fate

**Hey and I'm back**

**I only lay claim to Andromeda, Amalthea, Jethro, and Snow**

**WARNING: This Chapter contains violent scenes and is not for the faint of heart.**

**Don't own Rise of the Guardians. Sorry for any OOC ness here but it'll probably happen.**

**POV None **

**Location: Unknown **

The door to the cell opened and Jack snapped awake. Pain dropped Andromeda inside the door to the cell. She was bleeding profusely and her clothes were smoldering. As soon as Pain closed the cell door Andromeda dragged herself weakly back into the corner. A smear of blood on the floor marked her path. The cell door opened again but instead of Pain a different man entered he looked just like Pain but instead of red, his hair, shirt, and eyes were black.

"I am Panic" the newcomer announced "Pain's brother." He moved over to Andromeda. He turned to look at Jack. "Just some unfinished business. You don't mind do you? Of course not." He drew back his foot and drove it into Andromeda's rib cage. She rolled onto her side and coughed, blood flecking her bottom lip. "You know, brother is more than willing to let you go." He said turning his attention to Jack once more as he turned to leave. "You just have to admit that you hate little star girl here." He said gesturing to Andromeda's curled up form.

"I do" he muttered already planning; he'd go get the Guardians, come back, and bust her out. Pain was torturing her, beating her within an inch of her life, and despite his feelings towards her she still needed help.

"Then you're free to go." Panic said standing clear of the open cell door. Jack stood and looked over at Andromeda. He had expected to see pain or betrayal in her eyes instead he was met with a shocking acceptance. She accepted that he was leaving her there. He turned and followed Panic to the end of the hall where he opened yet another door, this one leading out doors. "Good choice Frost." Panic said giving him a slight push through the door. The door slammed shut behind him. It was night which was good since what stretched before him was a desert. He started walking, headed due north, he'd find a city sooner or later and then he'd find out where he was.

**3 hours later**

The sun was starting to come up and it was getting warmer. Jack started to sweat and stumble.

"This is it" he muttered "I'm done for"

"Jack Frost?" a female's voice asked. Jack spun around to see a girl in pink that looked so much like Andromeda that for a second he was convinced that it was her, then it registered that she'd spoke and he took in her features. Instead of a star she had a heart pin in her hair, her shirt and shoes were pink and her hair was light blonde with red and pink streaks.

"Yeah?" he slurred slightly. Her expression went from curious to concern and she placed her hand on his forehead.

"Oh geez" she muttered "Baking like a hot potato. Come on." She smiled as she unfurled a pair of white wings behind her. "Your friends are looking for you." She flew up into the air and hooked her arms under his, mindful of his hands which, he noticed, were bleeding. She lifted him into the air and took off headed north. "My name's Amalthea by the way."

**2 hours later**

**POV None**

**Location: Pole**

When Amalthea landed at the pole Jack was looking a lot better. She led him inside and announced her presence to the Guardians.

"Guess who I found wandering around the Gobi desert." She said entering the room where the Guardians were. Jack entered the room behind her and when Bunny gave him his staff he took it gratefully. All weariness seemed to have left him.

"Uh Jack?" Amalthea asked "Where's Andromeda?" she accepted the first aid kit that North offered and began treating her hands.

"That's how I got out" Jack admitted "Panic offered me a deal. I seized the opportunity to get help to rescue her." Amalthea finished wrapping her hands with gauze and treating them with antiseptic. She had wrapped each finger individually and the gauze went all the way to the tips of her fingers.

She had barley moved but the red mark on Jack's cheek was proof that she had hit him. "You left my friend, my ONLY friend, the only other person in this whole existence who actually knows what I've been through, with those psychos?" She screeched. Jack nodded and Amalthea slapped him again. "You moron, Pain will kill her." Realization flashed in her eyes. "This is because of that day isn't it? Whatever you think happened, you only know half the story. After she failed that day, she swore that she'd never try again and she convinced herself the only way to do that would be to take herself out of the picture. For the last 310 years she's been finding more and more creative ways to try and off herself. The guilt of those 17 kids weighs on her." Jack just stared at her. Amalthea sighed.

"It seems like you guys won't understand us unless you see what we went through."

"You're not suggesting we look at your memories are you?" Tooth asked

"No." Amalthea said "Our history. Everything from when we were born to what I had for breakfast this morning. For that we have to go see Father Time. I'd rather do that after we find and rescue my sister."

"Wait" Tooth said "You're going to help us?"

"I wasn't at first" Amalthea admitted "and Andromeda probably won't; but they destroyed my home, they made it personal."

**POV Andromeda**

**Location: Gobi Dessert.**

When Pain came back again I was sprawled on the floor in the middle of the room, dried blood caked in my hair. "You heal remarkably fast" Pain sneered. He grabbed my arm with an iron grip. "Your pain is intoxicating. It fills me with so much power." He dragged me out of the cell, down the hall, and into another room. He tossed me against the wall, and I sucked in a breath to keep myself from crying out as white hot pain tore through me. Black spots danced in my field of vision and I saw Pain coming towards me. I couldn't tell what he was holding but I knew what ever it was it was going to hurt. A sharp stinging pain bloomed in my abdomen.

'Knife' I thought to myself 'dirty rotten sonofabitch' the pain stabbed again at my shoulder, then again as a slicing feeling on my left arm, then my right. The air took on the pungent metallic odor of fresh blood. Pain traded the knife for a metal rod that he proceeded to bludgeon me with.

"Why don't you scream?" he snapped bashing the rod against my left leg hard enough to shatter the bone. Pain screamed in frustration and ripped off one of my slippers. He grabbed the knife and started cutting my foot again and again. He grabbed a bag of white powder and a small yellow ball and held them up for me to see. He sprinkled some of the powder on my open wounds and I bit back a hiss of pain.

'Salt' I thought. Pain cut the yellow ball in half, with the blood soaked knife, and squeezed it over my foot 'Lemon Juice' I sucked in another breath, and clenched my teeth. He repeated the process on my other foot receiving the same reactions. Finally it seemed he had reached the limit of his patience.

"I'm done for now." He snapped grabbing me he dragged me back to the cell. His grip tightened on my arm then all of a sudden I was airborne. It didn't last long I crashed into the wall and a new wave of agony rushed through me, the agony redoubled when I fell to the floor. I coughed splattering the wall with my blood. The pain was starting to overwhelm me; the black pinpoints had grown to splotches almost covering my whole field of vision. My vision started to tunnel and I could feel my self losing consciousness. The room faded into blissful darkness as I left the waking world.

I was roused from my slumber by two things, a faint glow at my feet and the agony. The glow was coming from a silvery gold flower with five petals, growing up from the floor next to my feet. I reached down and plucked the flower staring at its beauty I was filled with a new resolve. I would escape if it killed me. Hell maybe it would, and then I'd finally have _my_ wish granted.

**POV None**

**Location: Unchanged **

Andromeda reached into her quiver which she had tucked into the corner of the room. Pulling a single arrow from the quiver she began carving at the wall. Pain came back multiple times but never noticed the tunnel and when he tossed her back in the room she renewed her efforts. By the time the final arrow broke she had a tunnel of notable length, and she had made it through the concrete wall and well into the dirt of the outside world. She discarded the broken arrow and began clawing at the ground with her hands. It wasn't long before her fingers started bleeding but soon after she broke the surface of the desert floor. Dazzling daylight met her. She pulled herself from the tunnel and looked back towards where she came. A large imposing grey building that looked like a prison, a solid gray brick, stood before her.

'Okay so… not that way' she thought to herself. She turned and marched off in the opposite direction. She walked for several hours every step causing agonizing pain in her feet and left leg. She left a trail of blood through the sand. 'Got to get off the ground' she thought sullenly as the sun sunk over the horizon. She tripped and fell for what felt like the millionth time since escaping, the rough sand gashing her feet open again. Pushing herself to her feet she looked at the darkening sky, her eyes flashed iridescent silver. She checked behind her to make sure she wasn't being followed, and continued walking. After about ten minutes of walking the first of the stars were appearing in the sky. Andromeda tripped again and once again tore her feet open. Mustering her strength and trying not to cry she rolled onto her back. Too weak to move again she sighed loudly.

'Have to get out of here.' She thought to herself. Gathering as much will power as she could she opened her mouth and spoke, actually spoke, for the first time in 462 years. "POLARIS." She shouted. "I need help" her voice was soft from disuse but it had the intended effect. A flash of light appeared to her left and when it faded a silvery- blue stallion stood ready. The horse bowed its head and walked towards her. "Polaris." Andromeda sighed as the horse helped her up and then onto it's back. "Thank you for coming."

The horse shook its head and whinnied.

"Polaris" Andromeda said leaning into its mane "Thank you, take me to Amalthea please." The horse whinnied and galloped away at light speed very mindful of its passenger.

**Okay well that's the end of that chapter.**

**Review if you liked it please and thank you.**


	8. Chapter 8: Meeting Andromeda

**I'm having a cover design contest design a cover for one of my stories. winners will have their pics used and be given a shout out. they will also be given a prize to be determined later (ie a fic about one of their characters) send them to the page at **** kaiofthevesparplains**.

**Here's chapter eight enjoy. **

**I only own Amalthea, Andromeda, Snow, Jethro, and Polaris**

**I don't own Rise of the Guardians.**

**POV None **

**Location: Pole**

There was a great cacophony of activity as all five of the guardians prepared to take on Pain and Panic. Snow had arrived, with Jethro in tow, carrying a few of Andromeda's spare quivers. Amalthea felt a sudden twitching in the pit of her stomach. It was faint but insistent.

"Guys" She said, instantly getting the attention of the room. She focused making sure it wasn't a false alarm. She grinned "Andromeda escaped! She's on her way here." As if on cue there was a bright flash outside. Amalthea raced to the door. She flung it open and was about to run to greet Andromeda when she froze. The sight she took in made her sick to her stomach. A scrawny boy roughly 17, with silvery blue hair and golden skin, was holding Andromeda bridal style as blood dripped from many indiscernible points soaking into the snow, staining it red.

"Polaris" Amalthea acknowledged the boy her voice cracking. "What happened?"

"She didn't tell me." he said sadly "She was so weak when she called. I'm amazed she was able to stand up to mount. Pain broke her left leg and sliced her feet to ribbons; and despite all that she managed to make it fifteen miles before she asked for my help."

"Put me down." A weak hoarse voice drifted up. Amalthea, Polaris, and the guardians, who had by now made it over to where they stood, stared at Andromeda's face. Her eyes were open and she eyed each of them weakly. "Polaris; please put me down."

"No" he said "Your leg is broken and your feet are like Swiss cheese."

"North" Amalthea said over her shoulder "Do you have an infirmary?"

"Of course" North said "The elves are getting hurt all the time; we mostly use it for them, but it should be equipped to help Andromeda."

"Good" Amalthea said "Show us" North nodded and proceeded to lead Amalthea and Polaris to the medical ward. They arrived in a pristine room complete with a bed covered in sterile looking white sheets. "Lay her on the bed Polaris." Amalthea said. "Let's get down to it." She moved over to the bed where her sister lay, awake but unmoving.

Polaris nodded and left the room. Amalthea attempted to lift Andromeda's shirt off of her head, but it was caked with so much dried blood that it was as stiff as cardboard in her hands, plus Andromeda grimaced with every movement. There was a cabinet on the far wall and she moved to it, inside was every kind of medication available, as well as a small bowl and several washcloths, and a hospital's worth of dispensary items. A sink jutted from the wall beneath the cabinet and Amalthea filled the bowl with warm water. Balancing several rolls of gauze, a washcloth, and a bottle of melatonin on her head and the bowl in her hands she carefully made her way back over to her sister.

Andromeda eyed her warily; as she neared she set the bowl on the bedside table and carefully removed each object from on top of her head. She lined the gauze up next to the bowl and opened the pill bottle. Retrieving one she held it up for Andromeda to see. Andromeda shook her head.

"No" she said.

"You need sleep" Amalthea said matter- of- factly. She pressed the pill between Andromeda's lips then placed her hand over her mouth to prevent her from spitting it out. She pinched her nose until she saw Andromeda swallow the pill. Andromeda glared at her. "Sorry" Amalthea grabbed the rag and, dipping it in the water, proceeded to clean Andromeda's wounds starting at her arms. By the time she made it to her feet Andromeda was sound asleep. She tore the seam on Andromeda's left pant leg and, after resetting the bone, splinted it. The water had turned red and gone cold so Amalthea dumped it down the sink and washed out the bowl. She finished cleaning the wounds she could see and realized she had a problem.

"North" she called exiting the room. She found him in the globe room with the other guardians and Polaris. They were all either sitting on the floor, Jack and Tooth, or leaning against the wall. When she entered the room they all shot to attention. Polaris rushed over to her. "She'll live" Amalthea answered the unasked question. "North" she began, turning to the large Russian. "Do you make clothes?"

"Sometimes." North replied "Why?"

"I'm going to have to cut her shirt off to get to the wounds underneath. It's her favorite shirt and she'd be crushed if she lost it."

North nodded in understanding and waved a yeti over. "Describe the shirt." He said taking a pen and pad of paper from the yeti.

"Well, it's black, with a gold star on the front, and in silver cursive it says "Wishful Thinking". It's the same size and material as mine." She pinched the hem of the sleeve and bid him come touch it. North moved over and brushed his fingers across the offered fabric. Then moving behind her he flipped the shirts tag to the outside so he could read it.

"Just to make sure you get it exactly the same maybe you should see the original." Amalthea turned and, with North following, headed back to the infirmary. She pushed the door open and walked in. Andromeda was still asleep a troubled expression on her face as nightmare sand swirled above her head. North was staring at her shirt committing each and every minute detail to memory. His eyes drifted to her face and he started with surprise. He stared, his gaze flicking between Amalthea's face and Andromeda's, taking in the similarities.

"Are you related?" he asked. Amalthea stiffened.

"Are you done?" she responded ignoring his question "I need to finish patching her up before she wakes up." North nodded and left the room.

Amalthea grabbed the scissors from the medical cabinet and set about shredding Andromeda's shirt. Once she had removed the blood soaked shirt she got a fresh bowl of water and cleaned the wounds that had been under the shirt. After she tended to the wounds she wrapped some gaze around Andromeda's torso, covering them up. She settled down in a chair that was next to the bed. She didn't want to deal with Andromeda's pants while her leg was broken. She stared at her companions sleeping form realizing that she was currently more gauze than skin. She fought back the stinging in her eyes.

"It's never been this bad before." She whispered. She swept some loose strands of hair off Andromeda's face. She leaned back in her chair and, sometime later, dozed off.

Amalthea snapped awake at the sound of the door opening. She looked over in time to see Jack walk in holding a small black bundle. A slight shift in the air prompted her to look over at Andromeda. She was staring at Jack with indifference in her, now copper colored, eyes. "Thank you" Amalthea said taking the bundle from Jack. She dismissed him with a polite smile but he didn't leave.

"Listen, about what I said," He began "I don't _hate_ you. I was mad for a bit, but it's not your fault. I just wanted you to know that I'm not going to hold it against you."

Andromeda's expression remained indifferent. "Sure" she said though it came out more like a sigh. "Whatever Jack." Amalthea quickly scanned Andromeda's form. Most of her body, save her neck and face, was covered in gauze and bandages.

'The bandages on her feet need changed.' Amalthea noted taking in the growing red splotches. "You know Andromeda; I don't think I've seen your feet this beat up since our trials."

"Amalthea with all due respect it feels like some psychotic Irishman did a jig on my entire body; could you get me something to kill the pain?"

"Your medication of choice is not an option right now." Amalthea said sternly.

"I'm well aware of that." Andromeda's voice was strained. "As much as I want some, preferably white lightning, I can't afford the thinner blood at this point. She turned her gaze once more to Jack who was standing awkwardly in the doorway. "You can leave now." She sighed. Jack placed the bundle on the end of the bed and returned to his position in the doorway. Amalthea was the one to reply this time.

"Is there something else or do you just not remember where the others are? 'Cause I'd be more than willing to show you."

"Nah that's okay." Jack replied exiting the room. Amalthea moved to the end of the bed and began unwrapping Andromeda's feet. She washed them once again and re-wrapped them, doubling up on the padding and gauze. She couldn't help but stare at them and feel guilty, if she'd been more attentive….

"You can take the splint off now." Andromeda said. Amalthea jumped snapped out of her reverie.

"Hey." Amalthea said suddenly very aware of something she should have noticed before. "You talked. You've been talking this whole time." She had to fight the urge to hug her, finally, after so long she could finally hear her voice again. "Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting for this?"

"462 years five months, three weeks, and six days. I'd get more specific except I don't know what time it is."

"Oh _someone's_ a sarcastic smart ass."

"You know it. Gotta own it."

Amalthea stared at Andromeda's face her eyes briefly flashed violet before returning to copper. Amalthea took in the sight of her hair, the light brown was now more of a muddy red in places, and the silver and gold streaks were pinkish and orange respectively.

"Can you stand?" Amalthea asked. Andromeda nodded and sat up. She moved stiffly her left leg straight out in front of her, as it was still splinted. She turned and placed her right foot on the floor. She moved her pant leg aside and set about untying the splint. "Bed rest is a wonderful thing." she said as she bent her left leg and stood up. She balanced on her left foot testing her leg.

"Yeah, yeah" Amalthea said "You're just lucky you're such a fast healer."

Andromeda reached up, probably to tighten her ponytail, but stopped when her hands met the thick dried blood caked mess that was her hair. "Geez I need a shower." She worked with her fingers until she was able to remove the hair elastic and star pin from her hair. She placed the blood covered objects on the bed with equally blood stained sheets. She picked up the bundle Jack had brought and unwrapped it. She stared at the shirt then the pants. "North makes clothes huh? Who knew?"

"I didn't ask him to make you pants, just the shirt. Your old one had to be cut off so I could get to the wounds in your chest area." Amalthea said slightly ruefully.

"And you didn't just get another of my shirts from home because…?" Andromeda trailed off.

"I didn't get one from home because Aeris sent her little peon to destroy it." Amalthea said. "There isn't anything there but some rubble."

"What about Jethro and Snow?" Andromeda asked.

"They're both okay."

"Good" Andromeda said as she headed for the door. She had grabbed some gauze and antiseptic. "I'd hate to think they got hurt just because of us." She opened the door and stepped into the hall. "You gonna show me where the others are or do I have to guess?" she asked turning back to Amalthea. Amalthea grinned.

"I'll show you." She said exiting the room and leading Andromeda to the globe room. Andromeda had draped the thin flat sheet from the bed around her shoulders so she would at least appear somewhat decent in front of North and the other guardians. It had been folded at the foot of the bed so it didn't have that much blood on it, only one or two spots of red showed against the white.

"Hey what happened to your hands?" Andromeda asked. "And your face?"

"I had a bit of a mental breakdown. I must've accidentally smeared some blood from my hands to my face" Amalthea replied.

"What a pair we make" Andromeda said ruefully as they entered the main room of the pole. As always the Globe of Belief was lit up like the Fourth of July. The guardians were standing around the room. Tooth was chattering to her fairies, Bunny was leaning against the wall, North was joking with some yetis, Sandy was trying to keep one elf from drinking from his cup, and Jack was freezing three elves were they stood.

"Hey, North?" Amalthea called "Do you have a shower we could borrow?" The aforementioned Russian turned from his conversation and took in the sight of his blood-covered guests.

"Yes of course." He said "Right this way." He turned and led them through a different door than the one they came from. "Then after you get cleaned up we can make with the proper introductions."

"Sure." Andromeda said as they came to a door. North pushed it open to reveal a white tiled bathroom with a sink, a toilet, and a pristine looking shower stall. A white mirrored cabinet sat above the sink and a smaller cabinet sat above the toilet. "Thanks." Andromeda and Amalthea entered the bathroom closing the door gently behind them. After setting her new shirt and pants on the back of the toilet; Andromeda stripped until the only thing covering her was the gauze, stepped into the shower stall, and turned on the water. About a minute later a fair amount of slightly pink gauze landed on the floor with a loud splat. Amalthea grabbed a washcloth from the cabinet above the sink, got it wet, and began to wipe the blood off her face. About ten minutes later Andromeda stepped out of the shower, rewrapped her wounds, and redressed in the new shirt and pants North had provided; fixing her pouch at her side and wringing some water from her hair she turned to grin at Amalthea. She scooped up the old gauze and her pants and wrapped them in the sheet.

"Let's go" Amalthea said as she squeezed the last of the water from the rag. The girls exited the bathroom and headed back for the infirmary. When they arrived in the room the sheets had been replaced and Andromeda's hair clip and scrunchie had been cleaned and were placed on the bedside table. After depositing her old pants and the gauze in a nearby trash can and throwing the sheet in a hamper by the door, she moved over to the bed sitting down she began to work her hair back into its ridiculously high ponytail; achieving this she slid the star shaped clip into place at the base of the ponytail.

"I left my quiver in the other room." Amalthea said "Along with your wand, your bow, and your spare quivers."

**POV: Andromeda**

"Well then what are we waiting for?" I said standing up. I practically ran to the door and threw it open; I would've bolted into the hall but bumped into a slightly squishy wall that turned out to be about 6 feet of large Russian toymaker.

"Would you like to join us in the other room?" it wasn't North who'd spoken. I looked around him and saw the large rabbit that I had noticed on my way to the shower.

"Sure why not." I said flippantly. North backed up and allowed us to exit the room. They closed the door behind them and followed North and the rabbit to the large imposing room that we'd been in before. North moved over to a table at which sat Jack, some kind of a cross between a humming bird and a woman, and a little golden man.

"So" North boomed turning to face us "Time for proper introductions. I am Nicolas St. North but everyone calls me North."

The bird woman was the next to speak. "I'm Toothiana but you can call me Tooth. This is Sanderson but we all call him Sandy." She gestured to the little golden man.

"That's Bunny" Jack said "And you know me already."

"So let me guess" I said trying hard to be nice "Santa, the Tooth fairy, the Sandman, and the Easter Bunny. Am I right?"

"Pretty much." The bird lady – Tooth – said with a shrug, she turned and started chattering to a bunch of mini versions of her.

"So what is your name?" North asked

"I go by Andromeda Sirrah." I said sharply.

"Can we call you 'Andy'?" the rabbit – Bunny – asked.

"No" I said

"You don't have a nickname?" Tooth asked

"No." I said again. This was quickly getting to be too much interaction for me to handle. "Where's Polaris?" I asked attempting to change the subject.

'He left about an hour ago' Sandy signed 'said something about getting something for you, but wouldn't say what.'

"Probably went to find me a new pair of shoes." I suggested to the surprise of almost everyone in the room.

"You can keep up with him?" Bunny asked dumbfounded

"Yeah" I answered "Until recently I communicated the same way." I pulled a small pile of stardust from the pouch at my side. It formed three quick pictures before forming into a line and spinning around my head like a halo.

"What is that stuff?" Bunny asked

"It's stardust" I said as the trail tucked itself back into the pouch. I turned my attention to the large globe in the center of the room. "What is that?"

**POV None**

"That's the Globe of Belief" North said with a note of pride in his voice. Andromeda had moved to the railing that surrounded the globe.

"Every light represents a child who believes." Tooth said slightly awed.

"Oh" Andromeda replied a note of sadness in her voice. "There are so many, lucky for you guys I guess." Her eyes drifted to the table where the guardians had been seated and let out a noise somewhere between a squeal and a wail. She bolted to the table and picked up her bow. She hugged it close to her chest, her knuckles white with how hard she was gripping it. She, quick as a whip, ran her thumb down the middle of the star in the center and it shrank down. She stuffed the resulting star into her pouch and snapped it shut. She scooped up the silver quivers from the table and fastened them across her back. Amalthea chuckled and reached into her quiver, she retrieved the silver rod from among the pink ones and handed it to Andromeda.

"Here" Amalthea said sensing the tension lining her friend's body.

"Thanks." Andromeda said taking her wand.

**10 Minutes later**

"You told them WHAT!?" Andromeda shouted.

"I told them they could see our hourglasses." Amalthea said plainly.

Andromeda was tense every muscle was taught as a bowstring. "Why" she spoke through gritted teeth.

"Because they don't get it. They don't understand what it was like for us, unseen for 460 years. They need to be able to fully grasp the pain that put us through."

"They don't _need_ to know _anything_"

Bunny chose this moment to speak up "Everyone's got skeletons in their closet, things they'd rather not have everyone know, but sometimes letting others help is the best way to over come your obstacles."

Andromeda met each of their eyes seeing the pity in all of their gazes.

"It'll be okay kid." Jack said placing one pale hand on her shoulder.

Andromeda grabbed the front of his hoodie and pulled his face to hers so that their noses were only and inch apart "I am one hundred and fifty years your senior." She snapped "I don't need, or want, your fucking pity" this last part was directed to all the occupants of the room. Once again the yetis and elves were rendered silent. Andromeda released Jack and stormed over to one of the windows across the room. She opened it and threw herself out, a silvery pair of wings opened behind her seeming to phase through her shirt. If it was possible to fly angrily Andromeda pulled it off.

The window slammed shut behind her the glass rattling in the pane.

**Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnd that's the end of chapter 8. We can see that Andromeda's pissed. She really doesn't have a good handle on her emotions does she? But then Amalthea doesn't either so….**

**OH right! About Andromeda's wings think Tinkerbell without the swirly designs.**


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